Assessment Principles

In the past, schools relied heavily on summative assessment in the form of a grade assigned at the end of learning. If you think of learning as a life-long journey, however, relying entirely on summative assessment might be like waiting until the end of the journey to realize you'd taken a wrong turn and arrived in Paris when you'd meant to go to New York

It would be more valuable for both learners and travellers to have ongoing feedback and assessment throughout the journey to ensure they're heading in the right direction and can make course corrections as needed. This is known as formative assessment. Rocky View Schools balances summative assessment - assessment of learning - with formative assessment, for learning and as learning. Assessment is primary learning tool at Rocky View Schools and based on the following principles: